The Drive

After a very full 5 days in Sydney, we picked up a rental car and drove down a small coastal highway for 2 days, eventually reaching Melbourne.  The driving wasn't my favorite but the stops were some of my favorite things from my trip!

One of our first stop was at Depot Beach where 100s of wild kangaroos are said to roam the beach.  We didn't see too many kangaroos, but we did pick up shells for Macey.

 I guess the kangaroo sleep during the day and are on the beach in the morning and evening.  I hear they are a lot like deer...

 Kookaburra... should I sing the song again?

 Well after an hour combing the beach and looking for kangaroos we finally saw some as we were driving out!   They were up by the vacation cabins looking for lunch... just like deer!  I went to the bathroom and on the way I can around the corner and there was a huge kangaroo standing up just looking at me.  I think we scared each other.  With a closer look I could tell that is was mom and she has a HUGE joey in her pouch... she looked so funny.  The baby must have been close to moving out... she then hopped off.  Cutest thing ever!

 We were in charge of booking our own place on our way to Melbourne, so of course I booked a B&B right on the coast!  Eden, Australia is a place to consider retiring... it was beautiful.  We ate the most splendid fish and chips while sitting on the deck of the B&B that night as we watched the sun set.  Perfect really.

 The B&B was a super old building (1880's) that used to be a pub.  It's been restored and is amazing.  It even had a huge tub with a great view.  I'm such a sucker for a bath... oh I was in heaven with bubbles up to my ears!

 Sunday morning we woke up early and went out to this gorgeous point to look for whales.  Don't mind me swatting flies... we did see some!  They were probably humpbacks.  They were super small, but I'm sure that we saw whales!!  I was super excited.  Next time I am going on a whale watching cruise.  The other guests said over breakfast that they had gone the day before and saw tons of whales!  They even saw a young one doing lots of showing off.

 The place is called Crown and Anchor Inn if you are ever in the area... they served the most delish breakfast and I had my first poached egg!  Very tasty.

 Kangaroo crossing signs were everywhere!

 And Last BUT NOT LEAST... we saw THE Snowy River!!!  You know, The Man From Snowy River... brumbies... the best movie ever.  Thomas and I are big fans and were pretty excited to see the real place!  Rumor has it that Craig's cabin is there somewhere, but we didn't see.

More Sydney Pictures!

I made my way to a Chinese market to buy souvenirs.  It was just like the markets in Beijing!  It was exciting to be in that kind of atmosphere again and the prices were oh so good!  I thought the produce was pretty but there were a million booths with Ugg Boots, clothes, and everything else.

 I went to the Sydney Aquarium next... this was the first time I've been to an aquarium and I loved it!  They had a platypus that was so cute!  They are on my list for a future pet!

 I paid a little extra to sit in a glass bottom boat on top of the shark tank!

 The biggest sea turtle ever... it was at least 4 feet wide...

 Thomas got off of work early on Thursday so I took him around to some of the things I had seen earlier in the week that I thought he would like...  such as the lucky warthog.

 My Favorite Story From the Trip:

On day one I went to the Opera House to get an attraction pass that gets you into things at a cheaper price.  I was in a long line for about 30 minutes and talked with the ladies around me.  One lady was from Austria and was in week 3 of her 9 week Australian holiday when her husband fell and ripped his Achilles tendon.  They were flying home, midtrip, so he could have surgery.  She had 2 tickets the the ballet at the Opera House for Thursday of that week and was trying to get a refund.  She said that they were her Birthday present to herself and she had bought them 7 months ago!  I wished her luck when we were finally called... I went to a window and was told I was in the wrong line.  So while I was standing there, trying to figure out what line I needed, the Austrian woman came up to me, kissed me on the cheek, and handed me her tickets to the ballet that could not be refunded.  She had paid almost $150 per ticket!  I grabbed my wallet and gave her all the Australian dollars that I had.  So I paid $70 for $300 tickets.  She said she was glad that we would enjoy the show and her tickets wouldn't be wasted.  I thanked her and stood there in shock!

So Thursday, Thomas and I went to see the Australian Ballet preform Edge of Night.  It was amazing and everything I could have dreamed.   Before the show people were out mingling with champaign and people were walking around serving h'orderves.  It was so very fancy and I loved it!

The next morning we went on a walking tour of The Rocks... which was the original first settlement site and very cool!  Had lots of history and cool stories.

There was also a little shop making handmade candies!  It was like watching an artist at work... I bought Macey a beautiful handmade Christmas tree sucker and of coarse it broke in my bag on the way home.  I think I want to be a hard candy maker now.

 An old space used for refrigeration in colonial days... it wasn't cold.

 We then went up the Pylon which is the big ends of the bridge to look around.  If can't tell there are people doing the Bridge Walk and walking up to the top of the bridge!  Look close at the top and you'll see them!

 We then went on a harbor cruise.  Sydney harbor is HUGE!  Not, just a little inlet.  While we were out we saw this happy couple getting married on a yacht!  We got there right when they kissed!

 Thomas was getting a sunburn she we wore my jacket hood.  It was funny!

 We then went up the Sydney tower.  The perfect view of the city!

 So this giant cruise ship is docked in a "dry dock" which means it's out of the water.  Someone did a poor job getting her into the harbor and hit rocks on the way in.  We were told they got fired.  I doubt it is cheap to get that thing out of the water.

Day trip to the Blue Mountains

I paid for a fancy day trip to the Blue Mountains.  It was a crazy mess with booking, me waiting outside my hotel for 40 minutes, them not showing up, and then me going the next day.  When it was all said and done I was glad that I went.  It was fun to get out of the city and have a tour guide who knew all the ins and outs of Australia.  It was worth the hassle and the money! 

We started off the day at a wildlife park.  The animals were just out and about and you could pet lots of them!  It was pretty fun.

 Small sand penguins that live in the southern part of the country.  The are super little and really cute.

 I know that this is the wrong way!  Arg!  But... can you tell what it is?  There is a baby on the back of this koala and one on it's lap too!  Isn't that cute!  Momma napping with her twins.

 A Dingo ate my baby!

 Enchida - that's what this crazy thing is.  So the platypus and this animal are the only two animals who have fur, suckle their young, and lay eggs, and the both live in Australia!

 Kookaburra!  "Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree, eating all the gumdrops he can see..."

 Don't know what it is, but it looks like a dinosaur!

 I learned how to throw a boomerang... not as hard as you'd think when you are told how to do it!

 We then went into the blue mountains.  The Blue Mountains have a blue haze because of all the eucalyptus trees (known as gum trees) on them.  The trees emit a volatile oil that looks blue from a distance.  Bush fires are common because lightening easily ignites the oil.

We went to a really pretty place and took a tram down the mountain.  On the edge of a cliff is a small rain forest.  It was really neat and rare.

 Me and the three sisters...

 We ate a nice lunch, went to a cute little town where I bought a Santa riding a kangaroo Christmas ornament.  It was a good day and I learned a ton! 

Tuesday in Sydney

(What's with blogger?  Why can't I rotate my pictures?  Normally it just "knows" to rotate them but lately it isn't... any help??)

Tuesday was my first big day in the city and I wasted no time.  I first went to the royal botanical gardens.  It was amazing!  First off they are huge... it made me see how you could live in a huge city.  If there were a giant pristinely kept garden to get lost in right around the corner, that's how.

 So there are giant "flying fox" bats that are in the trees.  There wings were at least 3 feet across.  I thought they were super creepy!

Next came the Hyde Park Barracks Museum.  Australia was a built on the back of convicts.  England sent over 160,000 convicts to Australia at the height of the industrial revolution.  Most were for petty crimes like stealing food because of the extreme poverty of the time.  Children as young as 7 were sent because the jails in England were over flowing.  The Barracks Museum gives you a little taste of the beginning of the colony and who built it.  It was all really interesting.  They never really planned on the convicts coming back to England, even after their sentence was through.  After they were done with their time they were given 50 acres of land, 20 more when they got married, and 10 more for each child.  This helped people to be able to sustain themselves and not need the government.

There was a book with a few convict profiles.  Check out who I found!  I laughed out loud!

 Rats were the big reason there was so much left of the history of the era when the building was first used.  Rats would steal convicts possessions and clothes to build nests.  They would thousands of things in 1990's thanks to the rats.

 It's spring in Sydney and these purple trees are all over.  I loved them so much.

 The Australia Museum was full of natural history and Aboriginal history.  I spent all afternoon there.

 I met up with Thomas for dinner.

 We ate at Pancakes on the Rocks.  The Rocks are the original part of town that was first established.  The pancakes were devine, and yes, it is topped with ice cream!

Home again Home again...

Well I'm home... Thomas is not.  That's the only sad part about this story.  I had a great trip... Here's the run down- I was in Sydney M-F and hit it hard!  I was gone all day every day doing something.  Museums are a lot more fun without kids!  Then Friday we drove down the coast on our way to Melbourne, stayed the night in Eden, drove the rest of the way on Sunday an then I had Monday in Melbourne and flew home Tuesday.

I have some serious jet lag and fell into some kind of weird sleep/comma for 2 1/2 hours this morning on the couch.  I heard the kids on and off and just could not move!  I finally got up and a lot of time had passed!  Good thing no one was dead.  I found a whole package of crackers smooshed all over the house, Henry in the bottom of the shower playing and Macey in my bed reading. Now I have to stay awake the rest of the day so I can sleep tonight!

Thomas still has the camera, so expect a lot of post about Australia, they are the only pictures I have at the moment :)

Getting there and Day 1, Sydney:

My mom is wonderful!  She flew in Friday to babysit, so I had a whole day to tell her the details of the kids schedule and stuff (because the 4 page report I typed up probably wasn't enough...).  It was also fun to see her!  So Friday was fun, Saturday we felt in the afternoon flew to LA and then had the 15 1/2 hour flight to Sydney!  It was pretty fun... they bring you lots of food, you have your own TV screen with over 300 movies, shows, games, ect. to pick from.  I had a good time on the plan.

We got into Sydney at 8:30am Monday morning... Sunday just disappeared.  We got a cab to our hotel and checked in.  Thomas had to work a few hours and then we went on a bus tour of the city and suburbs.  It was a great idea for day 1.  We got a good layout of the city, saw lots, but didn't have to walk tons.  We went to Manly beach and it was beautiful!

There were lots of people surfing too.  There ways are huge!

After the tour we ate dinner and I went to bed at 7:30pm :)  A great first day.  More to come later!